> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.pluvel.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Budgets

> Set spending limits and track how you're doing against them.

Setting a budget is easy. Sticking to it is the hard part. Pluvel helps with both — set limits for any category, then see at a glance whether you're on track or overspending.

## Creating a Budget

Go to **Finance → Accounting → Budgets** and click **New Budget**.

You'll need to specify:

1. **Name** — "Q1 Marketing" or "2025 Operating Budget" — whatever makes sense
2. **Time period** — Monthly, quarterly, or annual
3. **Categories** — Which expense categories to track

<Steps>
  <Step title="Choose your categories">
    Select which expense categories to include. You can budget for everything or just specific areas like Marketing, Payroll, or Software.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set amounts">
    Enter the budget amount for each category. You can type exact numbers or use last year's actuals as a starting point.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set alerts">
    Optionally, get notified when you hit 75%, 90%, or 100% of a budget. Most people set alerts at 80%.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Budget Views

Once you have a budget, you'll see:

**Summary view** — Total budgeted vs. total spent, with a progress bar. Green means under budget, yellow means close, red means over.

**Category breakdown** — Each category with its own progress. Marketing might be at 45% while Payroll is at 90%.

**Trend view** — Spending pace over time. Are you burning through the budget evenly, or did you blow half of it in the first week?

## Tracking Against Budget

Every transaction that gets categorized flows into your budget automatically. Categorize a \$500 Facebook ad as Marketing, and your Marketing budget reflects it immediately.

| Metric    | What It Shows                                     |
| --------- | ------------------------------------------------- |
| Budgeted  | What you planned to spend                         |
| Actual    | What you've actually spent                        |
| Remaining | How much is left                                  |
| Variance  | Over or under (and by how much)                   |
| Pace      | On track, ahead, or behind for this point in time |

That last one — pace — is useful. If you're halfway through the month and you've spent 80% of your budget, you're ahead of pace (not in a good way).

## Multiple Budgets

You can have as many budgets as you want:

* A master annual budget for the whole company
* Departmental budgets (Marketing, Engineering, Operations)
* Project budgets (Website Redesign, Trade Show)
* Personal budgets for employees with spending authority

They can overlap. A \$500 software purchase can count against both your "Operating Budget" and your "Engineering Budget" if both include the Software category.

## Budget Templates

Don't want to start from scratch? Use a template:

* **Startup** — Heavy on Payroll and Software, light on everything else
* **Professional Services** — Contractor-heavy, minimal inventory
* **Retail** — Inventory and rent focused
* **Previous Period** — Copy last year's budget and adjust

Or import from a spreadsheet. Upload a CSV with categories and amounts.

## Alerts and Reports

**Budget alerts** notify you when:

* You hit a threshold (80%, 100%)
* You exceed budget
* Pace indicates you'll exceed budget before period ends

**Budget reports** show:

* Budget vs. Actual for any period
* Variance analysis (where you over/under spent)
* Year-over-year budget comparison

Find these in **Reports → Budget Reports**.

## Tips for Better Budgeting

**Be realistic.** If you spent $5,000 on marketing last year, budgeting $1,000 this year won't magically make it happen. Start with actuals and adjust.

**Budget for the unexpected.** Add a "Miscellaneous" category with 5-10% of your total. Stuff happens.

**Review monthly.** A budget you set and forget is useless. Check in monthly, see where you're off, and adjust.

**Don't get too granular.** 50 budget categories means 50 things to track. Start with 10-15 meaningful categories and expand later if needed.

<Warning>
  Budgets only track categorized transactions. If you have a backlog of uncategorized expenses, they won't appear in your budget until you categorize them.
</Warning>

## Sharing Budgets

If you have team members or an accountant with access:

* **View only** — They can see budget status but not change it
* **Edit** — They can adjust amounts and categories
* **Owner only** — Only the company owner sees budgets

Configure in **Settings → Team → Permissions**.

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Categorization" icon="tags" href="/features/accounting/categorization">
    Transactions need categories to show up in budgets.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Custom reports" icon="chart-bar" href="/features/reports/custom">
    Build custom budget vs. actual reports.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>